Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I concur with Senator Quinn. I heard Senator Quinn raise this issue on the other Bill earlier this afternoon. The wording of this section is Dickensian. I cannot understand the wish of anyone to restrict the expression of another person's opinion. This goes against the notion of accountability and transparency and is not healthy. It also restricts the role of the chief executive officer. There could be a situation where a decision is made by the Minister or someone in the Department and the chief executive officer could not advise the members of the authority of his decision accordingly.

This definitely needs to be re-examined. If we look at the decision-making process and the workings of the authority that could be affected by the section, we can compare the effect of this provision with Senators not being allowed to speak on the Bill. The wording of the section seems to thwart the attempts of an individual who may wish to give his or her opinion when employed by the State to do so in many respects.